Lime Fantasy Supreme | Gilmore Girls Coffee Klatch

Welcome to my first installment in the Gilmore Girls Coffee Klatch series! Last week, Chef Sarah Elizabeth announced that she was going to be hosting a coffee klatch each Wednesday from now through the release of the upcoming return of Rory and Lorelai in the 4-part Netflix event, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, on Black Friday! A Year in the Life will consist of 4 90-minute episodes, each of which taking place over the course of one season of the year.

Sarah put out an open invitation to join her in binge-watching Gilmore Girls in preparation. If you started watching last Wednesday, you have needed to watch least 2.35 episodes per day in order to be done by November 25th. So, my goal is to average it out to 3 a day (because my ocd-tendencies really frown on stopping mid-episode).

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Red Wine Spritzers | Finding Libbie

Today I'm hosting a book tour stop for Finding Libbie, the latest novel by Deanna Lynn Sletten. Emily Prentice is helping her grandmother clean out the farmhouse that has been in their family for generations. She comes across a box of old photographs and learns for the first time that her father, Jack, was married to his high school sweetheart before he was married to her mother.

Emily is enamored of Jack's first wife Libbie after her grandmother tells her the heartbreaking story of their marriage, and sets her sights on finding her. At first she says she just wants to make sure that she is okay, but really she wants to find a way to bring some of that old joy back to her father that he's been missing since her mother passed away.

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Garlicky Greens and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes | #SignatureRussets

I've partnered with Idahoan on this sponsored post and all opinions stated are my own.

I have never been the best meal planner. I go through periods where I'll semi map out meals for a week or two, but I rarely follow through. I'm (almost) not ashamed to admit this weakness. I've learned to accept that I'm more of a "plan for 3 nights and fly by the seat of my pants for the remaining 4 nights" kind of gal. Having a well-stocked pantry helps me this department.

Let's say, for example, that I've cooked for the majority of the day on Sunday and we have a good, well-balanced meal that night for dinner. I also happened to make sure I had everything that I needed to make dinner for the next couple of days. Suddenly, it's Wednesday, which has been non-stop work and errands all day long. We finally roll in the door that evening after picking up kids from sports and after school activities and everybody is asking me what's for dinner before I can even hang up the keys.

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Sopa de Lima | #SoupSwapParty

As a self-proclaimed soup addict, I think the concept of Kathy Gunst's new cookbook Soup Swap is pure genius. Since you often wind up with leftovers when you make soup, you can tire of having the same kind of soup day after day, so why not make a party out of it? Gather a group of friends, family, or colleagues and have each person/couple bring a pot of homemade soup. The host will provide a loaf of crusty bread, a side/salad, and a dessert.

At the party, serve up tasting portions of each kind of soup and then everybody goes home with different soups to enjoy for the rest of the week! You could make it a monthly ritual. You could have themes. You could ask everybody to bring a drink that compliments their soup. You could set it up however you want.

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Dazed and Confused Dogs (aka Freshman Piggies)

We skipped last month due to general craziness, but today Kimberly of Coffee and Casseroles and I are back with another themed post. This month we challenged ourselves to pick any 90's movie and create a recipe inspired by it. Well friends, if I had to choose one movie that screams the 90's for me, it's Dazed and Confused!

Released the in fall of 1993, the same time that I started my freshman year in college, this film became a fast favorite. Set on the last day of school in 1976, it follows a group of teens living in Austen, Texas through freshman hazing rituals, party exploits, and general everyday nothingness. It has cute guys (and girls), awesome cars, wardrobes that I coveted, and a killer soundtrack (of which I owned...okay still own...both parts). A stoner flick at its core, there is also plenty of pot smoking.

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"Z Weed" Munchies Mix | Z Nation

Welcome to another edition of "In the kitchen with Zombie Fiction"! In honor of tonight's season 3 premiere, I'm sharing a recipe inspired by the hilarious Syfy series Z Nation. I hear a lot of people hating on Z Nation, calling it a TWD ripoff. I'm pretty sure that none of those people have actually ever watched it, because (and if you know me, you know I'm a diehard TWD fan) they are wildly different, similar only in that they are both zombie shows.

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Double-Ginger Molasses Cookies | #CookiesForKidsCancer

Every year OXO supports Cookies for Kids' Cancer during Pediatric Cancer Awareness month, donating up to 100,000* to support the cause. I'm happy to once again join them in baking a difference as I share some great OXO baking products that I used to test out a delicious recipe from the soon to be released Dorie's Cookies from Dorie Greenspan!

In case you're not familiar with the cause, Cookies for Kids' Cancer was founded by two OXO employees who were "inspired by their son Liam's battle with pediatric cancer, a disease which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. Cookies for Kids' Cancer provides inspiration and support to allow anyone to easily get involved in fundraising to find a cure for pediatric cancer."

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Polvorones de Naranja | Frida #FoodnFlix meets #CooktheBooks

This month, Food 'n Flix meets Cook the Books once again. Both the movie and book selection are stories based on the life of Frida Kahlo, and seeing how Mexican Independence Day falls this month (September 16), it's the perfect time to bring some Mexican and Frida-inspired recipes to the table.

If by some very slim chance you're not familiar with Frida Kahlo, she was a Mexican painter known for her 143 bold and surreal paintings, 55 of which were self-portraits—and also for her unibrow. She was a communist sympathizer, a (bisexual) feminist, and a fiery personality who was married twice—to the same man, fellow Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Although they were separated by more than 20 years in age, and had an infamously tumultuous relationship, both admitted to the fact that they were soul mates.

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Monkey Mat: Product Review

I'm that girl who keeps a stack of blankets in her trunk. I mean, you never know when the mood to hit the beach, watch some fireworks, have a picnic, or see a concert might strike—and I believe in being prepared. That's carried over from young adulthood to slightly-older adulthood. However, we're not always in my car when that happens. Or maybe we are and, as much as we love them, just don't feel like lugging out the big blankets.

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Italian Rice Pilaf + The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook Review

I've always said that everybody should learn to cook a handful of dishes really, really well and keep them in their back pocket. Then they call pull them out when family or friends come over and everybody will be impressed by their cooking prowess. But what about all of the other days, when you still have to have dinner on the table, but your family is threatening to walk out if you make your famous cheesy baked pasta one more time?

That's when it pays to have a solid cookbook arsenal at  your fingertips, like the one that I'm sharing with you today, The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook. Written by fellow blogger Mary Younkin of Barefeet in the Kitchen, this book is packed from cover to cover with no-frills recipes that are simple to make and delicious to eat—any day of the week (because your family deserves that cooking prowess every day).

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Create a Family Cookbook: Recipes, History and Tradition

A couple of months ago, I mentioned my partnership with Land O’Lakes, whose tagline is ADD A LITTLE GOOD™, which started me thinking about ways that I could bring good to others as an individual. There are all sorts of ways to bring good to others, from something as large-scale as volunteering in the community to something as simple as holding an elevator door for someone.

I decided that moving forward on a project that I've been planning in the back of my mind for years was a great place to start. I've been wanting to create a family cookbook. But when I say cookbook, I mean more than just a recipe collection. I mean a book that holds memories, photographs, history, tradition...and maybe even a few secrets. But also, recipes.

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